Archive for the Category ◊ Red Meat ◊

30 Nov 2010 Gringo Grandma’s Chili
Author:  |  Category: Main Dish, Red Meat, Soups, Teaching Boys to Cook Series  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  | One Comment

Gingo Grandma’s chili!  That’s me!  This is my chili!  You’ve probably guessed that this is NOT serious cook-off chili.  This is big pot, throw-it-all-together, family friendly, low-budget chili. Chili that everyone likes.  Chili with ground meat =:0 and beans =:0. A recipe that makes enough for a crowd or for three days of leftovers. A chili that reheats and freezes well. Rainy-day comfort food.  Game Day staple food. Chili Dog party food.  Must have camping food.

This is an easy recipe to remember, too.  Think threes!  Three cans of pinto beans, three cans of diced tomatoes, 3 lbs of meat, three onions.  I found the original recipe in The San Jose Mercury News food section years and years and years ago.  I’ve adjusted the quantities of ingredients a bit and changed the name to fit the dish…and made it mine.  I hope you make it yours. too.

Gringo Grandma’s Chili

3 16 oz. cans pinto beans

3 16 oz. cans diced tomatoes

3 onions, chopped

1 -2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

3 lbs ground meat (2 lbs. ground beef, 1 lb. ground sausage)

1/4 cups chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

1 – 3 cups chicken broth (or water)

Pour canned pinto beans (with liquid) and chopped tomatoes into a large soup pot over a medium high heat. Bring to a light simmer.  Meanwhile, in another pan, saute chopped onion in olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes.  Stir in garlic and saute for another 2 minutes.  Add onions and garlic to bean and  tomato mixture.  To the same pan, now emptied of onion, brown ground beef and sausage, about 15 minutes.  Drain fat from meat. Stir drained meat into the bean-tomato-onion mixture.  add  in chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. If desired, stir in one to three cups of chicken broth or water until the chili meets your desired preference (some people like it thicker or soupier than others).  Simmer chili for 1 1/2  hours, covered.  Uncover and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.

Serve hot in deep bowls, in front of the TV, on a cold day…  I like to serve with grated cheddar cheese and corn muffins, but sliced green onions and sour cream would also be good toppings.  I think this chili is best the second day, and leftovers (or even the whole batch) freeze very, very well.

Makes approx. 16 cups, that’s one gallon of family friendly, easy to eat, chili.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today.  Now remind me to post the recipe for corn muffins, they’re stellar!

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15 Nov 2010 Glazed Pork Chop for One
Author:  |  Category: Main Dish, Red Meat, Teaching Boys to Cook Series  | Tags: , , ,  | Leave a Comment

My nineteen year old daughter whipped this up for her dinner–over high heat–in her on-campus apartment over the weekend.  The firefighters came to call, in their big red truck, with the sirens blaring.  She set off the smoke alarm.  With one pork chop! The recipe is good, and it does deserve some fanfare, but let’s save the firefighters another trip out.  When you make this recipe, deglaze the pan over a not-too-high heat!  BTW, she ate the pork chop after the firefighters left and said it was “GREAT”!

I found this recipe a few years ago in an  NPR newsletter.  I was so excited because I was expecting all my kids to move out. I was going to be HOME ALONE for the first time in my life.  I was going to enjoy cooking for one, and this recipe for One Glazed Pork Chop was poised to be a staple. Well, life has a strange way of working out.  My last two kids at home moved out to college dorms, but my older daughter moved back, and she came back with a baby!  My kids were leaving one-by-one, but coming back in twos!

Finally, in March this year my daughter and grandson moved out, and my younger son and daughter are still away at college so the pork chop recipe is now front and center. I’ve never had the firefighters come to call while I am making this, sadly…

If you still  have family at home, my friend Kayte makes “Glazed Pork Chops for Three” using this recipe, so feel free to double and triple the quantities below.

One Glazed Pork Chop

  • 2 tablespoons jam, any flavor (marmalade does not work, the bits get burned)
  • 2 tablespoons mustard, preferably Dijon or any stone-ground mustard
  • 1 center-cut, bone-in pork chop, about 3/4-inch thick
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons vinegar, preferably white-wine (plain white vinegar, cider vinegar or sherry vinegar would all be fine)
    1. Mix the jam and mustard in a small bowl, with a fork. Season the pork chop with salt and pepper on both sides.
    2. Preheat a small, heavy skillet over high heat until it is hot enough to make a droplet of water dance or evaporate on contact. Add the oil, swirl around to coat, and immediately add the pork chop. With the heat still on high, brown on one side, about 3 to 5 minutes, and turn over. Spoon the jam-mustard mixture onto the browned side of the pork chop. Lower the heat to medium and cover with a plate or lid while the second side browns, another 4 or 5 minutes.
    3. Remove the lid, raise the heat to high, and turn the pork chop a few times to coat evenly. (Since cooking times can vary widely with pork chops, you may want to cut into it with the tip of a knife to check; the meat may be pink but not rosy; moist but not soft).
    4. Remove the pork chop to a plate. Scrape jam mixture off although it’s fine if a bit of glaze clings to it. With the heat on low to medium, keep cooking down the jam and mustard a little more, scraping with a wooden spoon, until the mix is very dark and concentrated and quite dry. If it burns a little, that’s fine.
    5. Lower the heat to medium, add the vinegar, and scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to release any delicious brown bits. You may need to add a little more vinegar to achieve a heavy, smooth sweet glaze.
    6. Put the pork chop, along with any collected juices, back in the pan and raise the heat to high (gently, unless you too want the firefighters to stop by…)while you turn the chop with a fork to finish glazing it.

    Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today, and thank YOU, firefighters,

    for stopping by my daughter’s kitchen yesterday.  She’s going to be dropping off some thank you treats soon.  Not to worry! I’ll send her some no-bake recipes!

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    24 Sep 2010 Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
    Author:  |  Category: Main Dish, Pasta, Red Meat, Teaching Boys to Cook Series  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,  | 9 Comments

    Who eats jarred spaghetti sauce?  I hope no one.  I don’t. Not ever.  Well, I’ve had a spoonful here and there, so I do know how bad it is.  Too much vinegar.  I like wine, tomatoes, onions, fresh mushrooms and fresh meat in my spaghetti sauce.  I’ve never used a recipe.  I learned from watching my Dad, who learned from watching the Galloping Gourmet (I think he also got permission to drink during the day from the Galloping Gourmet, but that’s a whole other story.)

    My daughter, Abby, has asked me to write down my “recipe” for Spaghetti Sauce.  I put the word recipe in quotes because when I make spaghetti sauce, I just go for it.  It’s never really the same twice, but it always works out  (I’m not Italian, so I make no claims to an authentic Italian sauce).   Last week, when I made a big batch of spaghetti sauce, I carefully wrote down what I did so Abby can make her own spaghetti sauce while she is away at college.

    If you haven’t made spaghetti sauce before, perhaps this “recipe” can be your starting point. Use this as a guide to add and subtract ingredients to suit your tastes. Over the years the amount of meat in my sauce has decreased.  I’d like to cut it my 1/3 more, but my son would get upset.  We all like mushrooms, so I use a good amount.  I don’t like green or red peppers, so I leave them out completely.  One thing I wouldn’t change is the “Super Six”, the must-haves for seasoning spaghetti sauce:  sautéed onions, garlic, celery, parsley, basil and oregano.

    After the sauce is made, I let is sit overnight and then we usually have it for dinner. And, if I give in to the pleading of my older daughter, I’ll make a tray of lasagna, too, and then we’ll eat that for the next few days.  The remaining sauce I freeze in 3 or 4 cup batches.  This recipe will makes 10-12 cups of sauce.

    I hope you never buy jarred sauce again.  Nasty stuff.  Too many preservatives.  Not enough flavor. This is so much better, so much better.

    My Mom Polly’s Spaghetti Sauce

    Olive oil, as needed for sauteing
    2 large onions, coarsely chopped
    2 cups diced celery
    1 tablespoon minced garlic
    ¼ cup minced parsley
    2 28-oz cans crushed tomatoes (recently I have use the “Muir Glen” brand, but for years I used whatever was on sale at the grocery store.  If you have them, use blanched, chopped tomatoes from your garden.  If you don’t like  chunky spaghetti sauce, then substitute the same amount of tomato sauce.)
    2 16-oz cans tomato sauce
    2 cups water
    1 tablespoon dried basil
    1 ½ tablespoons dried oregano
    1 tablespoon brown sugar
    1 teaspoon salt (add more later if needed)
    1 teaspoon pepper
    1 ½ lbs to 2 lbs of ground beef (or a mixture of your choice of ground beef, sausage, pork, veal.  Use at least 50% ground beef.  I have used ground turkey before, and don’t recommend it. I found the flavor to be too mild for this robust sauce)
    1 lb sliced mushrooms
    2 cups red wine (any robust red wine), optional, of course

    Heat about 2 T. olive oil in a large skillet.  Stir in chopped onions and sauté for 6-8 minutes, or until the onions are translucent and starting to caramelize. Stir in chopped celery and sauté for another 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and parsley and sauté for another minute.  Do not let the garlic brown or burn.  Pour mixture into a large stock pot, and turn on heat to medium.  Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, basil, oregano, brown sugar, salt and pepper.  Simmer for 30 -60 minutes, stirring occasionally (the longer the simmer, the richer the sauce). Meanwhile, in the skillet, add another tablespoon or two of olive oil and sauté the sliced mushrooms.  Add the mushrooms to the tomato sauce after the sauce has simmered at least 30 minutes.  In the same skillet that browned the onions and the mushrooms, add the ground meat.  Brown the meat, and then drain the fat off (to drain put the cooked meat in a colander over a bowl).  Stir drained, cooked meat into the tomato sauce, along with 2 cups of red wine, and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.  Taste, and more salt, pepper and brown sugar if needed. Serve immediately over hot noodles and topped with grated Parmesan cheese, or let cool, refrigerate, and chill overnight. Warm up only as much sauce as needed for your next meal.

    Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today, I always like it when you stop by!  Leave a comment and say HI!

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    18 Sep 2010 Lamb Meatballs in a Coconut Curry Sauce
    Author:  |  Category: Main Dish, Red Meat  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,  | 4 Comments

    Another winner from the The Meatball Cookbook Bible!  My elder daughter, who has her own apartment, has stopped by twice, in two days, for a bowl of leftovers.  I knew she liked lamb, but I think this is the first time she has taken a shine to curry.  As with the other recipes from this book, the dish is not complex, but it’s fun, a bit different and still has all the elements of family friendly comfort food.  Umm, well, that is if your family tastes lean to the slightly exotic, spicy side.

    I used the full 3 tablespoons of curry powder when I made this, but next time I’ll probably reduce that a bit.  The curry was just on the uncomfortable side of spicy for me, but I am a wimp, a real wimp, when it comes to hot and spicy food.  I left out the dried apricots and the currants, too.  It didn’t appeal to me in the curry, but for some reason I think adding them to the couscous would be OK.  Does that make any sense at all?  No, I didn’t think so.

    Lamb Meatballs in a Coconut Curry Sauce

    1 egg
    2 tablespoons soy sauce
    1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs (find them in the Asian section of the supermarket)
    2 tablespoons of chopped fresh cilantro
    2 tablespoons sesame oil
    8 green onions, chopped (use all of white part and up to 2 inches of the dark green tops)
    6 garlic cloves, minced
    2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger
    1 1/4 lbs ground lamb
    salt and pepper, to taste
    3 tablespoons of curry powder
    1 14-oz can coconut milk (find in the Asian section of your supermarket. Do not use low fat, and do not use Cream of Coconut)
    1/2 cup chicken stock (or water)
    1/2 cup chopped apricots
    3 tablespoons dried currants (or chopped raisins)
    1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold chicken stock or water
    vegetable oil spray (Pam)
    4 servings plain cooked couscous, rice or rice pilaf

    Combine egg and soy sauce in a large bowl and whisk until smooth.  Stir in Panko and cilantro.  Set aside to soak.

    Heat sesame oil in a frying pan over medium heat.  Add green onions, garlic and ginger.  Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat.

    Add half of green onion mixture to bread crumb mixture and stir to combine.  Add in ground lamb.  Blend meatball mixture together by tossing gently.  Do not compress mixture, toss.  Form meat mixture into approx. 2 inch meatballs.  Roll balls lightly between palms.  Place formed meatballs on a foil covered, rimmed baking sheet.  (If desired, meat mixture or meatballs can be refrigerated for a few hours or overnight–be sure to remove remaining onion mixture from the pan and refrigerate that, too.)

    Preheat broiler.  Spray meatballs with vegetable oil (Pam, or something similar). Broil meatballs for approx 6 minutes.  Shake pan, or turn meatballs half way through the cooking time.  While meatballs are browning, finish the sauce.

    Return frying pan with remaining green onions back to burner.  Stir in curry powder and cook over low heat for one minute.  Stir in coconut milk, chicken broth and dried fruit if you are using it.  Bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

    Add hot meatballs to simmering sauce, cover, and let simmer for an additional 15 minutes.

    Remove lid from pan. Add cornstarch and water mixture to bubbling sauce, stirring constantly.  Cook for 1 or 2 minutes or until sauce is thickened.  Taste sauce and season with salt and pepper, if needed.

    Serve sauce over hot cooked couscous, rice or rice pilaf (and maybe a simple steamed green vegetable on the side).

    Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today!  Hope you liked the meatballs.  See you again soon?  I’ve got my fingers crossed!

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